Cultivator



L. M. BROOKS Juny 21, 1953 CULTIVATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. l5,1948 L. M. BROOKS yJuly 21, 1953 CULTIVATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept.l5, 1948 Patented July 21, 1953- `2,645,987 CULTIVATOR Lester M. Brooks,Seattle, Wash. Application September 13, 1948, Serial No. 49,031

,i This invention'relates to that class of devices known generally ascultivators More particularly, it has reference to a power-driven,handvcontrolled implement of a walking type for vground cultivation,grass cutting, land various analogous uses, that is especially designedfor operations where the larger and heavier machines are not practicalor economical to use.

,It is the principal object of this invention to provide a light-weight,hand-controlled, powerequipped implement designed primarily for the y.cultivation or .tilling of the soil, and wherein provision is madeforthe detachment of the soiltilling device or tool and the useinterchangeably therewith, and in a like or similar manner, of otherdevices or tools such as, for example, a grass mower, or weeder, or aseeder,

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an implement, of theabove kind, supported -at its forward end by a single ground wheel, andwhich is operatively supported, guided and controlled through themediacyl of a pair of rearwardly extending hand levers which theoperator grasps after the fashion of supporting and guiding the ordinarytype of wheelbarrow. Furthermore, a device wherein the arrangement ofparts, as supported by the ground wheel, is such that the weight of theengine and that of the driven tool are to a certain extentcounterbalanced by each other and the operator, in supporting the deviceby the handlesjis thereby relieved of a substantial amount of theweight.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hand-controlleddevice, as above stated,

` vwherein attachment device, for example, the

lowering of the hand levers, and also can positively control itsvworking elevation.

Another-object of the invention is to provide novel means of vlateralsupport for the implement when it is rested on the ground.

l.5 claims. (ci. 97-40) Still further objects ofthe invention reside inthe novel means for mounting the ground wheel .and in the means for'attachment of the drivenV Uthe improved details of construction, thepreferredforms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, nwherein lugsl 2B-28.

Fig. l is a top or plan View 'of an implement` embodying theimprovements of the present in" 2 vention therein, certain parts thereofbeing broken away for better illustration of details of construction. l

Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, showing the ground-working implementin fully lowered position and the handflevers in a normal position ofsupportfduring use of the implement.

Fig. 3 is a view ofthe implement as seenvfrom the side that is oppositethat shown in Fig. 2, and with the handle levers lowered and theattached'device disposed in a raised position.

Fig. 4 is a detail showing the means forV and manner of mounting the`ground wheel in the main frame structure.

Fig. 5 isa sectional detail of certain parts of the ground wheelmounting members in a disassembled relationship for explanatorypurposes.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail showing the sprocket and belt wheels asmounted by the tie bolt.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

In its preferred form of construction, the present device comprises a.main frame structure includinga pair of handlelevers, or bars, lil-15,

which, as noted vbest in Fig. 1,.are coextensive and are symmetricallydisposed at opposite sides of the central, longitudinal, vertical planeof the implement. At their forward ends, the handle levers are supportedby a ground wheel I2, that is located between them and functionallymounted as presently fully explained.` These handle bars extendrearwardly from the wheel in parallel relationship for a shortvdistance, as noted in Fig. l, then diverge gradually and symmetricallyto their rearward ends wherethey are equipped with suitable hand gripmembers l3-l3-` At their rearward ends these handle levers are spacedapart-a distance that is best for the intended use of the implement,that is, a distance of about twenty-six inches. The wheel l2,preferably, is equipped with a pneumatic tire as shown, and is aboutsixteen inches in outside diameter. The overall length of the implement,as designed for ordinary use, is aboutA eighty inches. However, thesedimensions may be varied asrequired or as desiredfor any specific use.`

Mounted rigidly upon and extended between the handle levers lli-l0, justrearwardfof the ground wheel i2, is a plate or platform 20 on which asmall, internal combustion engine 22 is xedly mounted` for use aspresently explained.` VForwardly of the ground wheel is a tool ordevice, designated generally by numeral 25, that is typical of thosedevices that may be interchangeably used with the presentimplement. Themanner ofmounting the wheel I2 and the ground-working device, or tool,275 will now be described.

Fixed to the twohandle levers lil- I El, at their vforward ends and atthe underside thereof, are Preferably these-lugs' are welded tothehandle levers which, asnoted best in Fig. 4, are of tubular form, butnot necessarily so. The

lugs as fixed to the levers are transversely aligned and have holes 29therethrough, as shown in Fig. 4, for the passage of a tie bolt 30.Also, the lugs are counter-bored at their inside surfaces, coaxial ofthe holes 2-9, to provide each with a socket 32, as understood best byreference to Figs. 4, and 6. The wheel I2 is equipped at opposite sideswith trunnion-like hub portions 34-34 that extend to opposite sides ofthe wheel, and which are socketed at their ends, as at 35 in Fig. 5.Short, cylindrical bearings 36-36, which may be sleeves as shown or ballor roller bearings, are fitted in these sockets and in the correspondingsockets 32 of the lugs 28-28 as seen in Fig. 4, thus to mount the wheel.The structure, with wheel I2 thus mounted therein, is then secured byapplication of the tie bolt 30, which is extended through the lugs28-28, also through the bearings 36-35 and a bore 38 that is coaxiallyof the wheel I2. This tie bolt also mounts the tool that is disposedforwardly of the wheel, as presently explained.

The soil-tilling, or other device that is designated generally bynumeral 25, comprises a rigid frame structure comprising asemi-cylindrical, downwardly-facing hood 60 supported directly in fnontof the wheel I2 and transversely thereof by a pair of lever arms 6 l'-6Iwhich have their forward ends welded or otherwise rigidly fixed to thehood, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and which are equipped at theirrearward ends, with bearings |62-62, disposed just outside the lugs28--28 and receiving the opposite end portions of the tie bolt 30pivotally therethrough so that the device 25 may have an up-and-downswinging adjustment relative to the main frame.

It is shown in Fig. 4 that the tie bolt 30 is secured in place by a nut63 that is threaded onto one end thereof. At its other end, the bolt hasa short handle or arm 65 fixed thereto serving as a head. The arm 65extends along the adjacent lever 6l and is detachably secured thereto bya screw B6. When it is desired t0 detach the implement 25, the nut 63 isfirst removed from the bolt 30, then the screw 86 is taken out and thearm 65 used as a handle whereby the tie bolt may be pulled out. Thisdetaches the device 25 but does not dismount the wheel I2, since thiswill be held in place by the bearings 36. Should it be desired todismount the wheel I2, this can be done, however, by merely springingthe frame members IU-I 0 apart as may be required to unseat the bearingsfrom the sockets in lugs 28--28.

The device 25 is here illustrated as a rotating soil tiller. It includesa central drive shaft 68 that extends from end to end of the hood, andis revolubly mounted at its ends in bearings [iB-69 fixed to the endwalls of the hood. Extending radially from the shaft 68 areground-working teeth 'Il which may be of any suitable form andarrangement. Fixed on the shaft 68 at one end is a sprocket wheel I2 andthis is aligned with a sprocket wheel 13 mounted to revolve on a bushing12x fitted about an end portion of the tie rod 30, between the nut B3and the adjacent bearing 62, as shown in Fig. 4. A sprocket chain belt'i4 operates about the aligned sprockets 'I2 and 'I3 and preferably thischain and the sprockets are enclosed in a housing which has been shownat in Fig. l, but omitted from other views for better showing of partsenclosed thereby.

Fixed coaxially to the sprocket wheel 13, as has been shown in Figs. 4and 6, is a V-belt pulley 80, and this is aligned with a V-belt pulley8l of lesser diameter xed on the Adrive shaft 82 of the engine 22, asshown in Fig. 2. A V-belt operates about the pulleys 8| and 82 and isnormally kept suciently taut, by an adjustable belt tightener, to effecta driving connection. The belt tightener, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,comprises a bell-crank lever B5 pivoted on the engine frame as at 88. Onone arm of the bell-crank is a wheel 81 that engages the top run of thebelt to control its degree of tightness. A coiled spring 88, seen inFig. 2, is attached to the adjacent lever IIJ and to the bell crank tonormally draw wheel 81 against the belt to keep it taut. A release rod90 is attached at one end to the other arm of the bell crank 85 andextends along the handle lever I8 to adjacent its hand grip portion I3,where it extends through a supporting ear 9| on the lever I0. The rearend of the release rod has a laterally turned portion whereby theoperator may, by means of the same hand that holds the adjacent grip I3,actuate the rod in a way to move the bell crank to remove pressure ofthe wheel 81 from the belt 83, thus to discontinue the driving of thesoil-tilling tool by the belt.

In operation, the shaft 68 revolves in the direction indicated by thearrow adjacent thereto in Fig. 2, and by reason of this, the teeth 'IIwill act on the ground to pull the device forwardly without requiringany particular amount of effort on the part of the user. However, thetool automatically stops its forward pull if held against advancementfor an interval sufficient to permit the teeth to pulverize the groundin which they are working.

If the operator at any time desires to adjust the elevation of or tolift the ground-tilling implement out of the ground, this is madeDossible by the frame interlocking means shown best in Fig. 3, whereinit is shown that a segment 9i is welded or otherwise fixed to the insideof the adjacent bearing 62 of an arm 6|, to rotate about the tie bolt 30with the up-and-down movement of frame of the attached implement or tool2 5. This segment is equipped with a plurality of ratchet notches withwhich a locking pawl S6, pivoted to a lug 9'! on the under side of theadjacent lever ID, may be selectively engaged. A pull rod 98 extendsfrom the pawl along the adjacent handle I8, to the hand-grip portion I3thereof and there extends slidably through a supporting ear 99. A loop Iis formed at the end of this rod to receive a nger of the hand asapplied to the hand grip. A coiled spring |02 is attached under tensionto the rod 98 and to a part of the main frame to normally urge the rod98 forwardly and the pawl pressed against the notched segment as in Fig.3.

Assuming the parts to be in use as shown in Fig. 2, should the operatorwish to raise the device 25 from the ground, he merely lifts the handlesIIJ- IU upwardly from position shown to about a sixty-degree angle, thenpushes them downwardly. The pawl 98 will, upon lifting the levers,ratchet over the segment and be engaged in a notch of the segment asShown in Fig. 3, and when the handle levers are then pushed downwardly,the implement 25 will be lifted to a position above the ground surface.

The notched segment also serves as a means whereby the tool may be heldat any desired working level, and this adjustment can be best made byresting the tool on the ground, then lifting the handles and engagingthe pawl in a notch that will support the tool at the level desired.

As a matter of convenience, the handle levers IU--I are each equippednear the hand hold portions with short supporting legs as at I I8. Also,as noted best in Figs. 2 and 3, legs H2 are fixed to the bearings 62-62to extend downwardly therefrom. The relationship rof these legs to thearms 6|-6l is such that when the tool 25 is in a working position, as inFig. 2, they will be held substantially above the ground. However, when.the device 25 is swung up to an elevated or lifted position, and thelegs [lil are rested on the ground, the legs Il2 will then be broughtinto position for supporting contact with the ground, as has been shownin Fig. 3.

It is anticipated that other devices, similar to that designated bynumeral 25, may be used interchangeably therewith. Such other devicewould have mounting arms like or similar to the arms lil-5I, and in theevent of its being a grass cutter or lawn mower, would have a driveshaft similar to shaft 68 and similarly mounted and driven.

Whatever tools or devices are used interchangeably with the cultivatorthat is here shown, would be of a like type in so far as mountingcontrol and driving is concerned.

In view of the fact that the present invention contemplates theinterchangeable use of Various devices forwardly of the supportingground wheel, each of which will have a supporting frame similar to thathere shown in connection with the rotary ground tilling device, and eachwill have a drive shaft extended to the side of its carrier frame, Ihave in the claims which terminate this specification, referred to thatframe which is forwardly of the ground wheel, as a tool carrier frameand the device which is mounted thereon as a tool, with theunderstanding that the term tool has reference to any device which `maybe employed, such as a cultivator, mower, weeder, seeder or othermechanism, adapted to be driven by the shaft S8 or one correspondingthereto.

and downward swinging adjustment of the tool frame, means for eiecting alocked connection between the main frame and said arms for adjustablesupport of the tool frame above the ground and legs attached to the saidarms and movable into and 4from supporting contact with the ground bylifting and lowering adjustments of the tool frame relative to the mainframe.

3. A device of the character described cornprising a main framestructure including a pair of laterally spaced handle levers, a tie boltextended between said levers at their forward endsy a supporting groundwheel disposed between the levers and revoluble about the tie bolt, atool frame disposed forwardly of the ground Wheel, having a pair ofsupporting arms pivoted at their rearward ends on said tie bolt atopposite sides of the wheel, means for effecting a locked connectionbetween the main frame and tool frame for support of the tool frame in araised position, supporting legs xed to the said arms of the tool frameand adapted to be brought into and from supporting contact with theground by the adjustment of the tool frame between raised and loweredpositionsA e. An implement of the character described comprising a mainframe structure including a.

pair of longitudinally extending handle levers for the manual support ofthe implement at its rearward end, a transverse tie bolt mounted byl andextended between the levers at their forward ends, a supporting groundwheel rotatably sprocket wheel on the tool shaft, a Vbelt wheelImplements of this kind are easy tov handle,

eective in use and relatively inexpensive.

Having thus described my invention, what Iv claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Animplement of the character described comprising a main framestructure, ,including a pair of longitudinally extending and laterallyspaced handle levers for the guidance and control of the implement inuse, a supporting ground wheel mounted between the levers at their for-`connection between the engine and the said drive shaft of the said tool,and a releasable means for effecting a rigid connection between the mainframe and tool carrier frame whereby the tool carrier frame may besustained at a selected operating distance above the ground through themediacy of the handles.

2. In a device of the character described, a

frame structure comprising laterally .spaced members, a supportingground wheel mounted between said members, a tool carrier frameforwardly of the wheel and having a pair of attaching arms extendedrearwardly from opposite sides thereof and pivotally attached to the mamframe at opposite sides of the wheel for upward on the engine shaft, asprocket wheel and a belt wheel coaxially joined and revoluble on thetie bolt and aligned, respectively, with the sprocket wheel on the tooldriving shaft and belt wheel on the engine shaft, a belt operativelyapplied about the aligned belt wheels and a sprocket chain beltoperatively applied aboutthe aligned sprocket wheels.

v5. A device as-in claim 4 including also a notched segment Xed to asupporting arm of the tool carrier frame concentric with the axis of thetie rod, a pawl pivoted on the main frame for one-way ratchetingengagement with the notched segment and selectively engageable with thenotches for effecting a positive connection through which the workingelevation of the tool may be determined and sustained through themediacy of the handle levers, and a means adjacent the hand gripportions of one of the handle levers for disengaging the pawl from thesegment.

' LESTER M. BROOKS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date '507,068 Elliott Oct. 17, 1893 1,020,461 Smith Mar. 19, 19121,383,294 Gardner July 5, 1921 1,550,291 Stull et al. Aug. 18, 19252,317,188 Hanson Apr. 20, 1943 2,368,290 Donald Jan. 30,1945

